Cerebral ischemia. I. Current angiographic techniques, complications, and safety.

The angiographic evaluation of the transient ischemic attack has been technically difficult, time consuming, and complication prone because of underlying arteriosclerosis and other medical diseases. The examination described depends upon small soft catheters, dynamic fluoroscopy for positioning, and selective magnified views of the arteries needed for surgical planning. Five basic views are exposed. On the side of clinical interest, a lateral view of the head and neck, a frontal view of the head, and a fluoroscopically positioned view of the carotid bifurcation are obtained; on the other side the frontal view is omitted. A total of 662 consecutive studies were performed on 603 patients without death or permanent strokes. The only permanent complication was a partial radial nerve palsy.